Heat Pump Compliance Guidance from the CEC

At this year’s SEEC Forum, California Energy Commission (CEC) Advisor to Commissioner McAllister Patrick Saxton spoke to requirements for residential heat pump water heaters in the Q&A of the Forum’s opening plenary session. Some additional residential heat pump water heater compliance guidance from the CEC is shared below:

For newly constructed residential, heat pump WH will continue to require use of the performance approach (i.e. compliance calculations). However, with the updated loads and new algorithms, compliance is achievable with HPWHs that are readily commercially available. The energy factors will be considerably higher than the minimum 2.0 EF that is federally allowable. The research version of 2016 CBECC-Res with the new HPWH model is available here. The version approved for compliance is scheduled for release the end of June.

In addition to some people still being confused that for newly constructed, the performance approach and compliance calculations will still be required, they are also likely to be surprised/confused that the HPWH EF will have to be higher for newly constructed since the baseline is tankless NG WH; whereas for changeouts the baseline remains storage NG WH.

The tables from both 2013 and 2016 residential compliance manuals that allows for prescriptive compliance for using HPWH as WH replacement are below: